Candidate with highest percentage vote in last three Local Elections says 'experience matters'

Cllr Michael Smith, son of  ex-TD and ex-Minister of Defence Michael Smith, has been going with the slogan “experience matters” and experience is certainly something he can claim.

When Cllr Smith was selected  to run he said:  “Over my career as a councillor, I have received the highest percentage vote in the last three Local Elections in the whole county of Tipperary. I have served on the council for 20 years and gained considerable knowledge and understanding of the challenges ahead.

“Experience matters in politics; it helps me weigh up decisions, assess consequences and implications, all through the prism of my time working with the people. I hope to have the opportunity to bring that experience to the role of TD. If elected, I promise to do my level best to serve the needs of the people of Tipperary and North West Kilkenny to the very best of my ability.”

With over 20 years as an elected representative, he certainly knows his stuff and is more than a known quantity in the Roscrea area. 

Where he may fall down is that he has no real audience in the younger generations which is exactly where his fellow Fianna Fáil candidate Cllr Ryan O’Meara is strongest. 

Cllr Smith is a contemporary of several other candidates, he’s going for the same vote as Alan Kelly, Michael Lowry, Cllr Jim Ryan, Cllr Phyll Bugler. Without having a niche carved out for himself, competing for a seat will certainly be a challenge.